Epilogue Norsuk

The familiar din of the bar washed over me as my brothers' and I settled into our usual table, the scarred wood worn smooth by countless elbows and spilled drinks. Across the room, Agatha, Emily, and Hayley huddled over a fizbin table, their heads bent together as they tried to puzzle out the arcane rules. The sight of them—our mates, our partners in all things—still sent a funny little flutter through my chest.

Strange, how quickly they"d become such an integral part of our lives. Our salvage run might not have made us rich in credits, but we"d come away with a treasure beyond price. A future. A family.

Laux, our youngest brother, slouched low in his chair, a smirk playing about his lips. "You guys are chumps," he drawled, idly spinning a credit chip across his knuckles. "Turns out I"m the real winner here, and I never even chased after one of those alien babes."

Kamek cocked a brow, his scarred face a study in skepticism. "And how d"you figure that, short stuff?"

Laux"s smirk widened to a shit-eating grin. "Spewit tournament, bros. I put together a team, took the whole thing by storm. Sitting pretty on six kilo-creds as we speak." He flashed his comm unit, account balance glowing emerald on the screen.

Sorik snorted, reaching over to cuff Laux upside the head. "Big fuckin" deal. Some of us won a lot more than money."

"Ow!" Laux yelped, clutching his skull. "The fuck was that for, you oversized bog goblin?"

"For being a dumbass," Sorik said flatly. "When you"ve found a mate—a real mate, not just a warm body to stick it in—then you can talk about who won what. Until then, keep your trap shut about things you don"t understand."

As if to punctuate his point, Agatha chose that moment to glance over her shoulder, flashing me a smile that lit up the room like a solar flare. The dress I"d bought her clung to her lush curves, the rich burgundy bringing out the undertones in her skin, her hair.

She shifted on her stool and the hem rode up a scandalous inch, baring even more of her toned thighs. My mouth went dry as old parchment, heat prickling up my spine. Hells, the things this female did to me without even trying...

Dragging my attention back to the table, I caught the tail end of Laux"s grumbling. "...gotta admit, they"re easy on the eyes. For aliens."

"Jaylee is beautiful," Kamek said, his rough voice gone soft with reverence. "Inside and out."

"Emily is a fucking goddess and you know it," Sorik added, puffing up like a Saurian tiger about to pounce.

Laux held up his hands, eyes rolling skyward. "Whatever, man. Didn"t say they weren"t hot. Just don"t see what the big deal is. I can bag a sexy piece anytime I want, no strings attached. Why buy the barnog when you can get the lentha for free, know what I mean?"

I opened my mouth, ready to tear the little shit a new one... but Agatha beat me to the punch. I hadn"t even noticed her slipping away from the fizbin table, but suddenly, she was right beside me, one small hand resting possessively on the back of my neck.

"The big deal," she said, each word enunciated with icy precision, "is that buying someone for the night isn"t the same as having a partner. An equal. Someone to share your life with, not just your bed."

She leaned down until her lips brushed the velvety edge of my ear, a sensation like licking a live wire. "Speaking of bed... what do you say we get out of here, handsome? I"m suddenly in the mood for something naughty."

"Nnngh," I managed, suave as ever. Cleared my throat, tried again. "Yeah. Yes. I mean... fuck yes, I"m done."

I stood so fast, my chair nearly went over backwards, every nerve ending screaming for her touch. Agatha twined her fingers with mine, a perfect fit, and together we threaded through the crowd towards the exit. I vaguely registered Laux making exaggerated gagging noises behind us, quickly cut off by the distinctive thud of two sets of knuckles hitting thick skull.

"Nice, kid. Real nice," Agatha tossed over her shoulder, not bothering to look back. "Come talk to me when you grow a pair."

She quirked a brow as we stepped out into the spice-tinged night, teeth flashing white in a wicked little grin. "A pair of wings."

A startled laugh punched out of me, rusty but real. I swept Agatha up into my arms, swallowing her giggling protest with a kiss that sent sparks skittering across my vision. She melted into me with a soft sigh, arms winding around my neck as her toes left the ground.

"Have I mentioned lately how much I fucking adore you?" I growled against the satin of her lips.

She hummed, a sultry little sound that shivered through me like plucked harp strings. "Once or twice. But I certainly don"t mind hearing it again."

"I adore you," I said. Punctuated it with a nuzzling kiss to the hinge of her jaw, the delicate skin behind her ear. Felt her pulse flutter wildly beneath my lips, a trapped bird. "I worship you. I"d burn down the galaxy for you."

"Flatterer," she accused. But her eyes had gone molten, limned in silver by the moons above.

I scooped her closer, until we were flesh to flesh, heartbeat to heartbeat. The truth of her—of us, this impossible, perfect thing between us—ached in my chest, too vast for my ribs to contain. I would cross the stars for her. Had remade myself, transformed down to the atoms to be a better man. The man she deserved.

And I knew with the same certainty that I knew my own name that I would do it again. Would do it a thousand times over, in this life and whatever waited beyond the black.

She was my true north. My fixed point in a churning universe. And come what may, I would always find my way back to her.

Agatha tucked her head beneath my chin, arms tightening fractionally. As if she"d heard my thoughts, and agreed with them down to the ground.

"Take me home, Norsuk," she murmured. "Take me to bed. I want to feel you."

"Anything," I vowed. "Everything. Always."

And with my mate—my miracle, my heart—cradled safe against my chest, I spread my wings and leapt into the boundless desert night.

Towards our future, and whatever wild adventure waited over the horizon.

Together.